Replies

I respect your views about this.

Thank you. I respect your right to hold independent views that may be contrary to mine or anyone else’s. Without engendering disrespect, disagreements of which facts supporting an opinion may be most important or whether fallacies of logic may, or may not, exist are certainly possible. However, for respect of anyone’s assertions of opinion to exist, such logic and/or factual support for that opinion must be offered.

Your original post failed to provide logical or factual support for your assertions. Consider that an argument can be made that an inmate of some mental institution may hold a sincere opinion or belief that he is Napoleon or some other historical figure. However, the mere fact that he sincerely holds such a belief or opinion does entitle that view to respect.

I know that mine [views] are a bit unorthodox, and I don't claim to be a Biblical scholar.

Personally, I have no problem with anyone’s “unorthodox” views and opinions. I happen to hold a few of my own. However, I do not hold such views, nor express them in a non-casual forum, without factual support and what I consider to be sound logic.

But the Bible is open to interpretation, that's why there's many demoninations of Christianity as well as Judaism, and why people devote their lives to studying the likes of the Torah, the New Testament, the Talmud, etc.

You are most certainly correct that portions of the Bible are open to interpretation, perhaps, due to ambiguity of original language or contextual settings amid other possibilities. However, there are other portions of the Bible that are crystal clear in meaning because, among many reasons, the same meaning is expressed multiple times in different language throughout the Bible. Such is the case concerning the topic of homosexual behavior. Consequently, the opinion you proffered concerning homosexual behavior without factual or logical support is beyond mere unorthodoxy.

The fact is, there are lots of people who are in favor of gay marriage. It's already been legalized in several European countries. You can't expect everyone who opposes gay marriage to do so for the same reasons as you do. If the institutiton of marriage is to remain a union between a man and a woman, we need to offer people several different arguments why.

You are correct in that there are many possible arguments against so-called “gay marriage.” Additionally, you are also correct in that I do not expect everyone who opposes this proposition to do so for the same reasons that I might.

However, I feel I must challenge anyone who espouses opposition to “gay marriage” in a manner that allows its supporters an easy attack on that opposition. When “gay marriage” opposition is ill-founded or illogical, “gay marriage” supporters can, and do, divert attention from valid opposition by attacking the ill-founded argument and successfully diverting public attention from the more valid arguments. Consequently, I felt obligated to challenge your assertions on the topic.

So if we want to keep gay marriage illegal, we've got to cover all the bases and not simply quote from the Bible, as there are other arguments against it that are worth being heard.

You should have noted in my reply to your post that I offered numerous reasons for opposition to homosexual behavior in general and, by extension, “gay marriage.” I did so, to provide factual and logical support to my assertions.

Furthermore, I cited multiple, specific Biblical passages that clearly expressed the same meaning concerning homosexual behavior. Consequently, I invite you to reconsider your “unorthodox” opinions and change them, or defend them with facts and logic.

"When “gay marriage” opposition is ill-founded or illogical, “gay marriage” supporters can, and do, divert attention from valid opposition by attacking the ill-founded argument and successfully diverting public attention from the more valid arguments."

Those who support gay marriage believe very strongly that the idea that homosexuality is a disease that can be cured is "ill-founded". I happen to agree with them, though I certainly wouldn't call my opinion a "fact". This is a hotly debated issue that has yet to be resolved by any scientific proof.

My argument against gay marriage is geared towards those who share my belief about some people being "authentically gay". I think you'd have a tough time convincing these people otherwise. I'm trying to show these people that legalizing gay marriage isn't something that just affects gays. It's about society's view of homosexuality in general. Either we view homosexuality as normal or abnormal. One can believe that some people are born gay, and still view them as abnormal. I want homosexuality to viewed as abnormal, and legalizing gay marriage would put an end to that.